Let's Purge!

One day early every December, I have headed to the closet under my basement stairs. There, packed in as tightly as possible, were boxes filled with Christmas decorations.

My visit was always the same. I pulled out the boxes, looked inside, and then decided “yes” or “no.” Yes, I would haul the contents up the steps and use them to decorate my home. No, I would shove the box back into the closet. I spent years doing this.

Last January, as I was returning all the decorations to storage, I decided to do things differently. I made three piles. Save. Donate. Trash.

Save meant back into the closet because I liked the items and wanted to use them again. Donate meant boxing them up and getting them to the St. Vincent de Paul Store. Trash? Did I really need broken ornaments? No, I didn’t. Out they went.

Surprise, surprise. When I opened the closet door this past December, guess what I found? Half of what was there the year before. I found decorations inside the closet that I really liked. I found things there with memories that made me smile.

The day that I spent decorating my house was very enjoyable — and easy. I knew right where to put things, and when I was finished the house looked pretty but not overdone. It was a great feeling!

I’m beginning to realize that that was the easy part.

The harder step for me is opening the door to my heart, and making the decision to save or to trash or to share.

My big box of treasured memories brings me so much happiness that it’s an easy decision to save it.

But what should I send to the trash heap?

Let’s try bitterness. And anger. And disappointment. And resentment.

What about envy? Jealousy? Decades worth.

And as we are rooting around in this interior place, what about sharing?

We have just concluded the Year of Mercy, a time when we focused on God’s loving forgiveness and mercy. Perhaps it’s time for us to give away a little of what we have received. Who needs our forgiveness? Who needs our mercy?

When we empty ourselves out, when we are no longer ego-driven, we can become reeds. We can become instruments who share the love of God. Sometimes it’s as easy as a smile, we were told by St. Teresa of Calcutta who said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

Saving. Trashing. Sharing. We can’t do it alone. Only the Holy Spirit can cleanse away years of negative thoughts, behaviors and attitudes, and only the Holy Spirit can replace them with goodness and kindness, love and joy.

In Galatians, St. Paul tells us about the Fruit of the Spirit, the virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

These gifts become manifest in us when we are truly filled with the Spirit.

Let’s do it. Let’s pray for a purge. And a renewal.